Bird
by Fanatical Dreams
Summary: His hand is strangling her by the neck, twisting her blood-ridden pink hair, while he the holds raven-haired boy, knife pressed to his neck. "One of them, Naruto-kun," he hisses, "You can only choose one of them."


AN: Set in an Alternate Universe.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Enjoy.

* * *

_0000_

His grip is stiff. His fingernail is slowly raking up her jugular vein, its harsh surface drawing a thin line of blood. Behind her trembling neck, the palm of his hand is cold against her raw skin. His fingers tense, and her neck pales against his stifling grip. Slowly, the bright light leaves her sharp viridian eyes. Her pink hair is stained with blood and her forehead protector begins to slide off away from her hair as her blood slowly trickles from a cut across her face. Her red vest is tattered, her gloves shredded. Her lips tremble slowly in a silent plea as she gazes upon the man with her fate in his hands.

He has blonde hair, shaggy blonde hair that hangs messily across his bright blue eyes – eyes fixed upon the masked man behind the terror. He trembles all over, eyes brimming with tears. With one last look at the forlorn girl, he hastily wipes away his tears with a torn orange sleeve, his previous demonic power ebbing away. I can see he is gravely injured – his right leg propped in a rather awkward angle, his breath coming out in haggard puffs. As his eyes refocus themselves, he turns to the other victim – a boy with the most startling red eyes.

The red-eyed boy with dark ebony hair is being held by the scruff of his neck. Behind him, the man holding both captives is bleeding from the mouth. Half his mask had been ripped off, exposing a pair of thin chapped lips – lips currently pressed firmly onto the handle of a battered knife. He presses the knife closer to the boy's neck, fingers piercing the girl's neck as he does so.

"_One of them, Naruto-kun," _he hisses through the blade, "_You can only choose one of them."_

I turn my gaze back to the blonde-haired boy – 'Naruto-kun'. I should leave now, I suppose, but I am interested in how this will turn out. There is so much ardour so much feeling and passion. Yet, with all this emotion, how strange it is that all four people here are dying. I believe it is not my place to witness their last moments, but yet as I turn to leave, I cannot resist one last glance back.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan,_" _The boy says finally. His voice wavers as the tears begin to drip down his face. He looks at her desperately, probing her, memorising her every feature, then suddenly, the masked man lets go of the raven-haired boy. He stumbles away, and his eyes leave the girl to glance at the boy for a second-

But when he looks back, she is dead.

* * *

_0000_

The next time I see any of the four is when I am looking for fish in the river. I scan the water intently for my next meal, weapons poised, waiting to swoop. However, what I do not expect is a familiar flash of pink at the bank. I rack my memory as to where I would have encountered that colour before, and make my way towards it as I do.

I am nearly there when I remember the day of the four dying people, and I think – it is not possible – she cannot have lived. But now that I look closer, I see the familiar rising and falling of her shoulders – she is breathing.

I make my way towards her – driven more by curiosity now than anything else. However, before I can reach her, someone else is there. He has dark ebony hair, quite like the boy from the previous time. He stoops low, and picks up the girl rather awkwardly before straightening, the dying girl – and now I am positive she is dying – in his arms.

I am baffled - quite baffled – and I open my mouth to voice my thoughts. But before I can, he turns around and stares at me, his eyes the same blood red of the boy before- and I am stunned. For a second, his eyes meet mine, and I am terrified.

I freeze, dead still and silent, then slowly, he turns around and disappears in a flurry of ravens. I am safe.

It is only later that I realise that his eyes - his haunting, ghastly eyes - speak of more suffering than all three combined.

* * *

_0001_

I do not encounter any of the five for quite a while, and when I do, I only see four, and they are separated. I see the first two at a village, where I am looking for a place to stay. I am floating around the crowds when I see the familiar sunny blonde hair and dark ebony. At first, I am not sure if it is them, but then, as I see the small but distinctive limp in the blonde I know it is them – the blonde who killed the girl and the man he saved.

They both look relatively happy and full having just left a ramen stand, and they seem to be quite popular with the crowd, being stopped numerous times to chat. However, I can tell that their peace is not complete, as they stop in front of a certain hospital and stare, never moving for a whole ten minutes.

"She's gone." The dark-haired boy finally says to Naruto, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

And so, they leave, and I decide that this is not the place for me.

I turn away and continue my journey to search for a home. It is only a mere half-hour later when I see, amongst all the green of the forest, a distinctive flash of pink. I do not believe it – all three of the original, so close yet so far apart. I advance closer and see that she is alive – healthy even – with only a thin scar across her neck to remind her of her past. She is laughing, a carefree bubble of happiness, and such a contrast to the state I had last seen her in.

I even think she is alone for a second before a large man pounces on her. I am worried for her, before I realise that the strange blue-man with gills is laughing with her. It is only then that I notice that they are wearing the same cloak adorned by her mysterious saviour. I think – what a baffling circumstance.

And just like that, as if out of nowhere, he appears – her saviour – with his ebony hair flowing softly in the wind. She grins widely and jumps on him, enveloping him in a big hug. His eyes slowly morph from red to ebony as the corner of his lips twitch up, and he awkwardly puts an arm around her too.

She pulls back, eyes full of hope.

"Did it work? Did the poison work?" she says hurriedly.

And finally now does the man allow himself to smile. "It did. Madara is dead."

And she laughs, more wholeheartedly and passionately then before, and hugs him again and again before she is pulled back by the other man. He grins, revealing a set of sharp teeth before slapping the man heartily on the back.

The scene even makes me happy, and I slowly venture forward. The girl catches my eye and she grins even wider before turning her attention back to the pair.

And so, I decide that _this_ is where I want to live.

* * *

_0003_

I see them regularly after that – the girl and the ebony-haired man. They often disappear for weeks on end, but always seem to return here. Occasionally, the blue man is with them as well.

Once, there was another blonde with them, who blew up a portion of the forest. They disappeared for months after that, and my home was constantly surrounded by ninja from the village. I was rather fine with the new intruders for the first few days, but then I got restless. The day I finally decided that I had had enough, I ventured out to protest, only to be stopped in my tracks by the faces of Naruto and his dark companion.

"Akatsuki," the blonde had declared reluctantly.

"_Itachi,"_ was all his companion could force out.

And that was when the forest was burnt down a second time by whirling black flames and the word _'Amaterasu'._

Now, exactly 61 days after, the girl and her companion return. The man stoops down and scrapes up some of the remaining ash from the second burning with his finger.

"_Amaterasu," _he says.

"Sasuke," the girl breathes in response.

And then, she hits the floor with one frustrated punch, successfully dismantling several trees and cracking the ground to no repair.

And that is when I finally decide that I have no idea what goes on in the minds of ninja.

* * *

_0005_

It is a moonlit night two years later when I witness their first fight. The pink haired girl is flushed, and I can discern a certain pink in the cheeks of the elder brother – by now, I am sure that Naruto's companion is the younger brother of Sakura's companion. They are talking deeply, and the man seems to be in pain.

"You have to understand Sakura – you can't breathe a word of this."

She nods, tears brimming at her eyes. "I just- I mean- the Uchiha massacre- _all this time –_ oh_ Itachi."_

And she pulls him into a hug, and I see she is crying, and I can tell that he is crying too. And then, under the light of the full moon, she pulls him in to kiss his cheek – but she misses – and catches his lips instead.

I feel like I am intruding on a private moment, so I retreat, but I hear shouting, and I am confused. I turn back around and see that the man – Itachi – is trying to say something, and the girl looks mortally offended – and hurt. And then, just like that, she breaks free of his hold and runs.

.

.

.

A mere six hours later, I catch them kissing fervently on the forest floor.

* * *

_0009_

I see Sakura and Itachi regularly now, and the blue man every so often. It has been six years since I have last seen Naruto and Sasuke, and nine since the masked man. It is weird, this interest I take in these five ninja, and they are the only names I bother to remember, despite many more being much more honourable and prestigious.

The masked man I suspect I will never see again, but I am curious, very curious, as to how the story of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and the two Uchiha brothers will end. But I am getting old, and my fellow kinsmen say that it is unhealthy to take part in such affairs. I will die without a mate or children, and my only wish is to see an end to this story.

I can feel it in my bones – I am dying, just like the four were dying this very day nine years ago. And so, as I see the pink-haired maiden and the Uchiha prodigy leave on this sunny morning, I decide to take a chance and leave all my kinsmen to follow them, and hope I get lucky.

I am rather tired already after fifteen minutes, and I wonder if this is useless, until we approach a familiar clearing and I realise we're headed towards the village. Energy springs to my limbs and I follow them fervently, all the way up the cobblestone path.

Just outside the gates, I see a figure completely enveloped in a grey cloak. There is a bulge beneath it, as if he is hiding something.

The two beckon him over, straw hats covering his ebony hair and her bright pink locks.

"I have the scrolls," the man whispers in a raspy voice.

"The mission reports on the Uchiha massacre?" Sakura confirms, pitching her voice lower than usual.

The man nods and reaches into his cloak. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Naruto and Sasuke appear, weapons poised in hands, ready to strike.

Sakura looks astonished, and so does Itachi, but he recovers quicker than she does and manages to block the attack.

Naruto throws a '_Thanks Ino!' _at the man, who promptly drops down unconscious, and in the scuffle, the two hats are knocked off their heads.

It seems like time has frozen.

"Sakura," Naruto forces out, "Is that really you?"

Sasuke manages to tear his eyes from the pink-haired maiden to face his kin.

"…Nii-san?"

And suddenly, I feel a stab of pain in my heart – I am dying, quickly now, and I can feel it. The pain is throbbing and I decide to take the last advice of my kin. I struggle to right myself, and nearly fall off the branch I am on. I struggle, but I can vaguely hear their conversation in my ears.

Slowly orientating myself again, I am sure that I am to die. I take one last look at the ninja. They are embracing. A tearful, loving, but slightly restraining one between the blonde and the girl – I suspect things will never be the same between them - and one full of anguish and long-gone love between the brothers.

I don't know if this is a happy ending, or simply closure, but I decide to shut humans out of my life and embrace myself for the last few minutes of my life. Sometimes, I wonder what life would have been like should I have been born a human, but I rid these questions from my mind as I ready myself for my last flight. And so, I spread my wings and soar into the sky, cawing my final goodbye.

_**Fin.**_

* * *

AN: I hope you enjoyed! Please review and tell me what you thought - reviews are greatly appreciated


End file.
